Tastes Like The Sun
by FallingFree10
Summary: Valguine. Valkyrie's confused over her love for a certain Texan with murderous tendencies. Now been turned into a story, in which Valkyrie is kidnapped and locked in the same cell as that very Texan while she waits for her Skeleton Detective to arrive. Crack pairings for the win :D There may be moments where I've changed tense or person #1st person, 2nd person#... Sorry about that.
1. Chapter 1

Tastes like the Sun

I sighed, biting my lip. A gentle hum floated into my ear, and I closed my eyes. "I'm confused." I murmur after a while.

"Why are you confused, li'l darlin'?" Came that Southern drawl. The warmth of his body was the only thing keeping me from freaking out right now.

"Don't you hate me? Don't I hate you?" I answered. I felt his shoulders shift in a shrugging motion.

"I don't know 'bout you, but I don't hate you." He replied. His fingers were entangled in my hair, while my arms stayed hung around his neck.

"I, um, I…" I bit my lip again, but took my teeth away so to finish my sentence. "I don't hate you. I just… A few weeks ago, I wanted to kill you. Now, I hate being away from you." I sighed with a mixture of agitation, confusion and content. "I just don't get it."

His fingers left my hair and went to my chin, lifting my head up so I could see his face and so he could see mine. "Sometimes I think the same thin', and yeah, I find it confusin'. But I don't really care." His lips cracked into a smile, and I stared into his eyes, or rather, eye-sockets. They used to repulse me. They don't anymore. There's almost something about them, something odd, which makes me think they're beautiful.

"And what if the others find out? Skulduggery and people?" I pondered. "He might try and do something to you." Knowing Skulduggery, he probably would. Something terrible. He would probably take it the wrong way; think Sanguine had been, like, taking advantage of me, or something.

"Let 'em think what they want." The Texan said. "But they won't find us."

"They will. We're detectives."

"Even if it did cross their minds, Val, they wouldn't believe it."

"And what if I'm put in a situation where I have to kill you?"

"I'll try not to be naughty. Stop worryin', li'l darlin'."

I sighed once again.

"You do a lot of wistful sighin', y'know."

I laughed quietly, my head still tilted up, kept there by his fingers. I reached up on my toes until my head was level with his, and pressed my lips again his lips. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me up with his strength, my arms still hanging around his neck. His lips never lost their taste. I can't describe the taste, but his lips remind me of, well, sappy though it sounds, sun. Warmth and sun… And something else I can't quite make out.

I worked my lips on his as his thumb stroked the back of my neck. If someone did find out… Well, they would definitely be shocked. Maybe angry. Though ultimately she agreed with her Texan on this one; she simply didn't care. Sometimes she worried, but when it came down to it all, as long as he's there, then she didn't care.

I pulled back ever-so-slightly, just enough to stop the kiss, and smiled. I nuzzled my head in his neck as I heard him chuckle, and close my eyes again.

"I love you, Billy-Ray Sanguine."

"I love you too, Valkyrie Cain."

There we go then. Nice Valguine-yness. Not particularly well-written, but I like it all the same. At the moment it's a one-shot, but I might think of turning it into drabbles, or adding an extra chapter or two. Should I turn them into drabbles/add more chapters?

I know it's an odd pairing, but this scene would be set after they had somehow built up feelings for each other. I might write a proper Valguine story, one day.

_One day._

Falling x :)

((Review pwez. Pwetteh pwez.))


	2. Chapter 2: In the Beginning: Part 1

HEY :D I _have _decided to create another chapter after one or two pleas from people (REVIEWS! YAY!) and I'm going to do what Jellyfish-bookworm suggested and attempt to write about how they grew to love each other. This plot will most likely take up the rest of the story. I'm not entirely sure yet. This is set in Valkyrie's point of view, but the next chapter will probably be set in Sanguine's POV.

ENJOY :D

Chapter 2: In the beginning- Part 1

I woke up to the familiar tapping on the window. Rubbing my eyes, I rolled out of the bed and onto the floor with a _thump_ and a groan. Pushing against the mattress on top of my bed, I got to my feet and opened the window. The skeletal figure of Skulduggery Pleasant hopped from the window frame to my floor and brushed off his suit, straightening out.

"Morning, Valkyrie." His velvet voice greeted me. I gave a yawn in reply and pointed at the door. He gave a nod and strolled out of the room, closing the door behind him. I walked over to my mirror and touched the glass, stepping out of the way as my reflection climbed into reality.

We went through the normal morning routine, and before long I was in Skulduggery's beloved Bentley. I had no idea where we were going because Skulduggery refused to speak of what was about to happen, he just said we were meeting someone and that was that. I gave up nagging him after a while, finally bored, and stared out of the window sulkily.

"Why won't you tell me?" I asked again, after a brief silence.

"It's top secret."

"I'm going to find out anyway."

"Yes, but, um, it's safer if you find out the hard way."

"_Oh. _You don't _know_¸ do you?" I said, a grin plastered on my face.

Skulduggery scoffed, but the scoff was awkward and quite obviously fake. "Of course _I _know."

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"You don't."

"I _do_."

"No, you don't!"

This carried on for a while, until Skulduggery's shoulders eventually sagged and he shook his head. "Fine, I don't." This, of course, brought on a cheer from me and Skulduggery refused to look at me.

.oOo.

The Bentley stopped outside the New Sanctuary after about half-an-hour of driving. I felt myself relax a little; I had worried a little on the way that this meeting might be, let's say, _bad news _for us. Skulduggery strode into the Sanctuary, me at his side, and took us to a staircase I had never noticed before. It went down; we descended the steps quickly and found ourselves in a long and dark corridor. It felt like no one had been down here in a while, and the lights flickered constantly when we turned them on. From where we were originally standing, the corridor seemed never-ending, and when I realised we were going right to end of the corridor, I groaned. This was going to take a long time.

To pass the time, I decided to start questioning him. "Why are we meeting Mr Anonymous?" Skulduggery pulled out his phone and looked at several texts, presumably between him and this mystery man. "He said he had something interesting. And I doubt he's called Mr Anonymous." He added. I gave him a very sarcastic look which meant _You don't say_, and continued to watch the tiny door ahead of us get bigger. "And what? You just agreed to go with him?"

"Yes." Came the simple reply. Skulduggery tucked his phone back in his pocket.

"Did it ever occur to you that this interesting thing might be the end of our lives?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

"Of course." He answered.

I stared at the floor in disbelief for a while, shaking my head every so often. The only sounds were our footsteps, until Skulduggery spoke again.

"I've always wanted to see what my demise looks like. Hopefully something fluffy."

.oOo.

After, well, _a long time_, we reached the door at the very end of the corridor. Skulduggery wrapped his hand around the handle and pushed down, nudging the door open. The only light in the room was from the dimly-lit corridor we had just walked down, though our bodies were stopping some of the light getting through. He closed the door behind us, and everything was black. I could just about make out his hat and the shape of his skull, but that was it.

"Where are we?" I asked, my eyes wide as I tried to see.

"Back when this wasn't a Sanctuary, a man used to live here." Skulduggery began. "He wasn't exactly friendly; he was quite cold and bitter, so he stayed out of the company of other humans by living underground. He was cut off from the world, but that was how he liked it. He lived his nice, isolated life for five hundred years, until one day, when another man decided to use this man's skills. This man was a type of sensitive, like a psychic, and could read other people's minds. The new man, Terry Deceitimal-"

"Deceitimal? What kind of name is that? It sounds like decimal." I interrupted.

"_Deceit_imal, Valkyrie. Look at the 'deceit' part."

"Oh, I see. Was he good at maths too?"

Skulduggery looked down at me, and I knew that if he had his façade activated, a mixture of confusion and raised eyebrows would be on his face. "Maybe." He took another breath and continued the story.

"So this new man, Terry Deceitimal, wanted to read the mind of an enemy of his, in the hope of finding the enemy's weakness. Or, well, that's what he claimed he wanted to do. He tricked the Unfriendly Man into the deal, and at the end, with the information he wanted, he managed to rob the Unfriendly Man of his powers, thus killing him.

"We're not exactly sure why Deceitimal wanted the Unfriendly Man's powers, but we decided to settle with the idea that it was to do what he claimed he was going to do: to find out people's weaknesses." Skulduggery finished. There was a moment of silence. What I didn't get was: If the Unfriendly Man, as Skulduggery called him, was completely happy already, what did the man offer him? I shrugged it off. It probably wasn't important.

"If you want to, you can turn the lights on."

He was here.

"What?" Skulduggery muttered, seemingly puzzled, as the lights flickered on and a man with dark brown hair and a blue suit stood grinning before us. I heard Skulduggery's gun cock.

"Hello." He said in a London accent. "It's nice to see you came."

"I told you the 'interesting' thing would be the end of our lives." I whispered furiously at Skulduggery. I didn't know who this was, but I knew that he wasn't good. Not entirely sure how I knew that, but I just did.

"But you're _dead_!" Skulduggery cried.

"Oh no, I'm not gonna be ending your lives today, Child." The man laughed, ignoring Skulduggery. "The interesting thing is probably nicer for you than that."

My brow furrowed. Nicer for us? What? What the hell does that mean?

"Isn't it a little dangerous for you to show up at the Sanctuary?" Skulduggery asked instead. "Somebody could have come down here for some reason." The man before us shrugged at this, his hands in his pockets.

"I don't think so, no-one ever comes down here. They stopped paying attention to this place a while ago." The man replied. I could see a gun sticking out of one of his pockets along with his hand. If either of us made a move, he could have it out in a second. Although, he would probably be flying before he could make a move. The thought made me smile.

"I feel a little lost. Who are you?" I asked.

The man in the blue suit blinked at me for a second. "Avarice Miser." He answered finally, flashing a white-toothed smile at me. "You must be Miss Valkyrie Cain."

"Yeah. So, what is this interesting thing?" I said, not paying attention to the charm he was trying to throw at me. "I want to get this over and done with."

"Right, yes. Oved!" Avarice called. A tall, muscular man clad in black walked out of the shadows. Hanging limply from his arms was a figure with long blonde hair strewn over Oved's arms. "I believe you know this woman, Mr Pleasant and Miss Cain."

My eyes widened. Was that who I thought she was? "Tanith?" I breathed. The woman Oved had now tossed on the floor didn't stir, but I could tell it was her. _Tanith_. I wondered if she still had the remnant in her, or if she was really back. I refrained myself from running over to her, and instead watched her chest rise slowly.

"So you _do_ know her. Excellent. Well, there's your friend. I'm afraid she still has a remnant in her, though." My shoulders sagged. Damn. But wait- How did he know about that?

"How do you know about the remnant?" I questioned him, assuming this Avarice guy didn't actually know who Tanith was.

"The man who gave me to her told me. A Texan guy who I've known along time, and who, quite frankly, really pisses me off." Of course.

Billy-Ray Sanguine.

"Where is this Texan guy now?" Skulduggery asked.

Avarice shrugged. "No idea. Now, there is a condition if you want your little blonde-haired friend back." He began. "I want something of yours, something very close to your hypothetical heart." Avarice's greedy eyes wondered over to me, and he licked his lips. I didn't know why, but he seemed to want me.

"Valkyrie?" He asked. "Why would you want Valkyrie of all people?" I probably should have felt offended by that sentence, but I was more distracted by Avarice Miser's want for me. _He probably wants my powers, or something. Maybe that's why he chose this place. Maybe he's like that Terry dude, _I thought to myself.

"You won't like my reasons, Skeleton, so forgive me for not telling you."

That, however, just made Skulduggery even more curious.

"Tell me. Now."

"Or, you could just give me the girl and take this one." Avarice said, nudging Tanith with his foot. "For Ghastly Bespoke." He must have known about Ghastly's thing for her.

"Or, you could tell me why you want Valkyrie, and _then_ I'll take Tanith." Skulduggery replied. "For Ghastly Bespoke."

Avarice shrugged, and nodded to over my shoulder. Immediately, there was a crack, and Skulduggery fell in a crumpled heap. I spun round, and felt a fist connect with my jaw before I had time to stop it. I stumbled backwards, feeling my jaw with my fingers. When I looked up, I couldn't see the owner of the fist. Before I could look back, before I could do _anything _from that point, a strong arm wrapped around my throat and squeezed. I coughed my last cough for a while, and spent the next minute or so flailing and kicking. I stamped on my attacker's toes, but the grip didn't loosen. My vision went blurry and slowly dark, and eventually I went limp with no vision at all.

* * *

... Did you like it? I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written... Sanguine's going to come in next chapter, which may come quite quickly, as I'm on that buzz I always get when uploading a new chapter/story. Valguine won't start right away, obviously, we've got to have Hate!Valguine first.

Review please... I liek reviews... Zhey're cool... :)

Falling :D


	3. Chapter 3: In the Beginnin': Part 2

Howdy.

So, in this chapter, we are taking Sanguine's view. (Yay.)

I should probably put a disclaimer here, so...

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant, Billy-Ray Sanguine, Valkyrie Cain... Let's just say that the only characters I own so far are Avarice Miser, Terry Deceitimal, 'Oved', 'Dimitri', The Unfriendly Man and I think that's it. :)**

For this chapter, it may seem longer if you make the Story Width 3/4 (By clicking the 6 (I think) lines on the grey bar below the story description here, and then selecting 3/4). That way it looks how I wrote it in Word, and therefore looks longer... XD

Enjoy the chapter :)

* * *

Chapter 3: In the Beginnin'- Part 2

I woke to the sound of small voices and a lot of gruntin' and huffin'. I reached out for my sunglasses and pushed them onto my face, sittin' up. _Well, lookee here_, I thought to myself. _I have company. _I looked at the far wall were a new figure was bein' dropped, and had to stop myself from groanin'. _Valkyrie Bloody Cain _lay sprawled across the floor, the wall proppin' up her head, still unconscious. Goddamnit, why was she here?

"What's she for, Sir?" A deep, gruff voice asked. I decided to listen it; it could be interestin'.

"None of your business, Dimitri." Avarice Miser replied. My shoulders sagged, and I took to glarin' at her curled up form. Maybe it would be easier to kill her now. Though Miser wouldn't like that.

Valkyrie stirred in her unconscious sleep. Miser and his men went back to hushed voices, and I couldn't hear 'em no more. Eventually, he left, his cronies followin' him. Bodyguards, he called 'em. More like puppies.

.oOo.

I heard a groan come from across the wide cell. She'd woken up. She was rubbin' her neck, and wincin'. Any minute now, she'd turn round, see me, and freak out. _Or threaten me. She likes doin' that. _Any minute, no, _second _now-

"What the _hell _are you doing here?" Cain cried. Her eyes were wide and her jaw hung open. I attempted to brush down my suit, which was all crinkled and dirty.

"Lovely to see you too." I pulled a grin. I felt laid-back and safe, despite her appearance so close to me, mainly 'cos she's got no magic anymore. "And why are you here, li'l darlin'?" I ran my fingers through my hair, to kinda comb it.

"No idea. The Miser dude got one of his henchmen to knock me out." She explained, huggin' her knees to her chest.

"Where's Bones, then?" I ask, glancin' around and just realizin' he wasn't there.

"They might have him, but then they may have just left him there. The knocked him out too, if you were wondering." Valkyrie answered. I mentally cheered. "He'll find me fairly soon, so I'm not really worried." I shrugged at her. She seemed a li'l too dependent of Funny Bones.

There was a small silence. "They gave Tanith back." Valkyrie said. I nodded. I'd given Tanith to Miser to give to Funny Bones and co. And then he knocked me out and kidnapped me. "That was me." I told her.

"I think this is the first normal conversation we've had." I pointed out, smilin' at her. She replied with a glare. She was obviously is a bad mood. Probably 'cos she was knocked out and all that. I wasn't feelin' too good after gettin' hit over the head really hard either. More silence. Ugh, silence was dull.

"So..." I said, attemptin' to start a conversation. I'd been so bored over the past few weeks or however long it's been, so now that there was someone I knew there, I was kinda grabbin' the chance with both hands. "Been anywhere nice?"

"Listen, Sanguine," Valkyrie sighed, turnin' to me while still sittin', "I realise you're bored and everything, but I honestly don't care. Right now, I need to think, and that's fairly impossible with you anyway, let alone with you trying to talk to me. So just, you know, be quiet." She turned back and went to curlin' up against the wall. I raised my hands in a surrender-like motion. She's might grumpy today, obviously.

"Alright. Sorry." I grumble. "Just tryin' to be friendly."

"Shut up, Sanguine."

"Don't feel like it."

"Shut up."

"Nah."

"Sanguine..." Valkyrie growled.

"Yeah, li'l darlin'?"

"Shut _up_."

"If you insist."

"Thank you."

I was the one to sigh this time. Who knew how long Bones was gonna take gettin' here? He could take weeks... Oh, God... Imagine three weeks alone with Valkyrie Cain.

Please, kill me.

* * *

**Sorry it was so short, but I had major writers block and didn't know what to write... D: And my computer blue-screened...**

**Thanks to:**

**Lucilia Venom**

**lovelydangerousdear**

**Miss Crazina Pleasant**

**Jellyfish-bookworm**

**September Silver**

**and two (maybe the same person) Guests **

**for reviewing :D **

**Feel free to review some more ;)**

**Falling x :)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Magic-Stealing Hourglass

**Sorry it took so long to update D: I need to find more time...**

**And sorry it's so short :/**

Chapter 4: The Magic-Stealing Hourglass

He was watching me.

Don't ask me why, but he was always watching me with this half-smile, half-frown. I tried to not let it bother me, but it did creep me out a bit. Especially since he hated me. God knows what he was thinking as those dark circles stared.

The metal door of our shared cell opened, and 'Dimitri' stood, all muscle, in the doorway.

"Miser wants you." He grunted, his voice deep and gruff.

"I'm sure he does." I replied. In the corner of my eye, I could see Sanguine smile slightly.

Dimitri closed his (_bloody massive_) hand around my arm. He pulled me to my feet, his grip on me tight, too tight. I yelped, and he pushed me out of the cell, nudging me to get me walking. I knew I couldn't fight, as I still had no magic (from what I'd gathered over my past few days there, magic was disabled in this building unless you had this arm-band thing) and I doubt _five_ punches from me would compare with _one_ punch from him.

He guided me by putting a firm hand on my shoulder and steering me in the right direction. We finally stopped, we were in a large and empty, with the exception of one wooden chair, room. Dimitri closed the door behind us, and ordered me to sit. I decided I might as well, so I fell onto the not-particularly-comfortable chair and waited, drumming my finger tips on the not-particularly-comfortable armrest.

Not long later, Avarice Miser strode in. He was pressing his phone to his ear and talking.

"Thanks. That's all." He said to whoever was on the other side, and hung up. He then turned to me, a pleasant smile on his face. "Miss Cain," he greeted me.

I didn't give him any smiles back.

"I see you're making yourself comfortable." He said, after a brief silence. I nodded. "Good. So, let's get going, shall we?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Going?"

"Get this started, more like."

"Right. And what is 'this'?"

Avarice stared at me for a few seconds, then smiled again. "Right, you don't know my ingenious plan, do you?"

I shook my head slowly.

"Ok. So, you know the story of the Unfriendly Man, don't you?"

"Wait. Is that _actually _his name?"

"It most certainly is. Well, the man I was talking to on the phone just a minute ago also supplied me with a special machine last week."

"And?"

At that moment, Avarice nodded to Dimitri, who promptly left the room, and continued what he had been telling me. "This machine just happens to be the same machine that the Unfriendly Man was made a victim to."

The door opened again and Dimitri shuffled through, holding a large hourglass with little tubes coming from the bottom.

I raised my eyebrows.

"And here it is." Avarice smiled, gesturing to the hourglass as Dimitri put it down next to me. "This little beauty connects to that chair you happen to be sitting on."

I looked down. I couldn't see where it might possibly connect. And the chair was wood, which left me confused. "How?" I asked.

"You'll see." He looked at a watch on his wrist. "Hurry, Dimitri, we haven't long."

Dimitri was bent down next to the chair. He mumbled something and pushed a tube against the leg of the chair. I watched as the tube melted into the wood.

"Interesting." I muttered.

"The process takes a few days, and goes in steps. Each day you'll be brought here, work will be done, and then you'll be taken back to your cell."

"How many days?"

"I'm not sure. When the hourglass is full. Your magic takes the form of grains of black sand, you see."

I sat, watching the tubes be plugged into my chair. I suddenly felt myself go stiff, and when I tries to flex my fingers, I found that I couldn't. My eyes flickered up to Avarice, who stood, smirking.

"Why is Sanguine here?" I asked after a brief silence.

"Sanguine? The Texan? An old friend of mine. Well, not a friend. He annoys me. I made a deal where I would pay him a large sum of money in return for Miss Low. When we met, I took Miss Low and kidnapped him as well."

I couldn't stop myself from snorting. "You kidnapped him?"

"Hit him around the head. Rather like your friend, the Skeleton."

I laughed a bit more as the image formed in my head. I continued to sit there until I felt my chest tighten. I looked at the hourglass as Avarice muttered "here we go," and saw the black sand slowly start to slide to the bottom. I was watching my magic fade, and drain form my body. It made me feel odd inside.

My chest untightened, and I felt unexpected pain spread throughout my body. Hot, white pain.

I screamed.

.oOo.

_Sanguine's POV_

__I was awoken by Miss Valkyrie Cain bein' chucked back into our li'l cell. I heard the prison door close, and looked at Cain's unconscious form. I couldn't see properly, thanks to how dark it was in there, but she looked pretty beaten up from what I _could _see. I still hated Cain and all, but I could help but feel some sorta degree of sympathy for her. I suppose the fact that I hated Miser helped me feel that sympathy. If I had did that to her, it'd be fine, of course. Or if I liked the guy, then it'd all be good.

But then, I guessed, if I liked the guy, I wouldn't be in that damn cell.

I sighed. Maybe it was her age. I mean, how old was she- 18, 19? Ok, so she's getting on to be an adult and everythin', but she was still pretty young to be feelin' that kinda pain.

I dunno. It seemed a bit weird, thinkin' those thoughts, seein' as I hated her.

I heard somethin' drip. Mighta been her blood. I shrugged, and started to hum a little tune that'd been in my head for a while. Hey, I was bored. Until I heard a soft murmur come from Cain's direction.

"What?" I said, wondering if she'd just been, like, sleep talkin' or somethin'.

"Stop... Singing." She answered, slightly louder.

"I'm not singin'. I'm hummin'."

Her head tilted up slightly so she could give me a pained glare. I grinned at her.

"Stop... humming then."

I obliged, and there was quiet.

"You okay?" I asked, after a bit.

"Oh yeah. I'm... fine. Just dandy." She replied, her voice heavily laced with sarcasm.

I chuckled. "Good to know."

More silence.

"So, er... Did you hear that drip? Like water, or somethin'."

"No." She said. It seemed kinda hurried though- like she was hidin' somethin'.

Was she cryin'?

I shifted in the position I was in. My back was gettin' sore. I went back to thinkin' though all-too-familiar thoughts of _Will I ever get out? _as Cain fell asleep. It took a while, but eventually, I drifted off as well.

**THERE YOU GO :D**

**The little Sympathetic!Sanguine was just to show that he can feel good feelings. He hasn't got any feelings for her yet, definitely not. He's barely spoken to her since she arrived. And when they have, they've basically argued XD**

**I'll try and update soon..**

**_Hey I just met you,_**

**_And that this isn't really _****that ****_insane,_**

**_But I'm going to assume you like my story_**

**_(Ok, maybe this is a little insane... XD)_**

**_So review maybe?_**

**_Or favourite. Or follow. I don't really mind._**

**__****Falling x :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Who's that actor guy?

**OH MY GOLDEN GOD. OH MY GOLDEN GOD, I AM SO SORRY. I don't have an excuse as to why I haven't updated for so long. Well, my computer blue screened on the original chapter 5, and seeing as I'd spent, like, an hour on it, I got really depressed.**

**Not actually depressed, but I got really frustrated and didn't do another one for the rest of the day. And then I just never got round to it.**

**Anyway, here it is: Chapter 5.**

Chapter 5: Who's that actor guy...?

BILLY-RAY'S POV

It'd been about a week since Valkyrie Cain was thrown into the small cell as me.

And believe me, it's been the slowest week I've ever had to live through.

The Dimitri guy comes and takes her away. An hour or so later, she comes back, bleedin' and weak. Sometimes I even hear her screams. I try not to let it bother me and my thoughts, it can just get a bit irritatin' after a while.

Apart from that, she just sits there, sayin' nothin'. She says she's thinkin', but I mean, come on, surely she's gotta have run out of things to think 'bout now.

Point is, livin' with her is so _borin'. _Whenever I try to start a conversation, she tells me to shut up. Bit rude. Maybe I could try again.

Or just annoy her. That's fun too.

"Hey, I just met you..."

Cain's eyes flashed open.

"And this is crazy..."

Her head flew up, so she was lookin' at me.

"But here's my number..."

She launched herself at me, clampin' her hand around my mouth. I grinned. When I realised she had no intention of lettin' go, I had no choice but to lick her hand.

She yelped and jumped back. She stared at her hand with disgust, and wiped it on her clothes. "Ew. Just... Ew."

"Don't like Carly Rae Jepsen, then?" I ask her, wipin' my mouth.

Cain glared. "She's like Justin Bieber."

I raised my eyebrow.

"They should both fall into a pit and die."

I laughed. "Wow. I'll take that as a no, then."

"Yeah." She went back to sittin' curled up against the wall. I realised this meant she wouldn't be speakin' anymore.

"You gonna go back to bein' all silent?"

She remained quiet.

"For God's sake, Cain, say somethin'. I'm so bored."

"Shut. Up."

"She speaks!" I cry. "Look... Do you wanna play a game?"

She slowly looked up at me, as if I was insane. "A... game?"

I shrug. "Yeah. I know this game where someone thinks of some kinda celebrity, and the other person has to guess it. The Famous Person Game."

"How creative."

"I didn't name it."

Cain sighed, lookin' at me. "Fine." She said after a while.

I smiled. "Sweet. I have one."

"Blonde?"

"No."

"British?"

"Yup."

"Ok..." She said slowly, thinkin' hard, the corners of her mouth twitchin' slightly.

* * *

o.O.o Some Time Later o.O.o

* * *

"Oh my god, I know this!" Valkyrie exclaimed. "His name begins with A..."

"Yeah.." I said, tryin' to get her to guess.

"You know... Snape. Alan? Alan something?"

"You're so close..." I replied.

"Rickman!" She burst out. "Alan Rickman!"

"Yeah!" I cheered.

She laughed, whoopin'. "Right, my go." She fell back against the wall, tryin' to come up with a challenge for me.

There'd been three people before Rickman- Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Clarkson (her one) and Al Capone. Apparently Capone was too hard for her though, so she made me do another one. It had been ten minutes since I'd suggested the game, and she'd never seemed so... alive.

"Got one." She grinned.

"Guy?"

"Nope."

"Girl?"

"Nope."

"Lady Gaga."

She clapped. "Nice one."

"Well, that was easy."

Cain turned sideways a little, still sittin'. The moonlight came through the tiny window high up on the wall that provided our only source of light. She looked up at the moon. My gaze flickered to her face, and horror took over my features.

I hadn't noticed it until now, but she looked _bad. _She had a big scar goin' down the left side of her face. Her lips were cut and she had bruises all over her forehead. Her neck was scratched, and there were a few more cuts around her nose area.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I realised she was lookin' at me too. Unable, to look away, we sat there, starin'. "What are they doin' to you?" I eventually said.

"They're taking my magic from me. It's all in this big hourglass." She explained.

"But why do you have all those scars?"

She shrugged, but it was pained. "Dimitri gets bored."

We stared a bit more. Finally, she spoke up. "This may seem a bit weird, but... Can I lie with you?"

My eyebrows shot up, and I cocked my head. "What?"

"It's just... You're really warm, and I'm very cold right now."

I opened my mouth several times, unsure of what to say. "Are you sure that's wise? I mean, how old are you? And if Bones finds out..."

"Twenty-three, and your life means that much to you, then I'll make sure Skulduggery won't find out."

"Aren't you scared I might, I don't know, murder you in your sleep or somethin'?"

"How? You could strangle me, I guess, but you're just as weak as I am so you wouldn't be able to hang on very long. The most important thing to me right now is that I stay alive and not die of hypothermia, so that if Skulduggery gets here and find me dead, he won't go on rampage and kill innocent people."

"True- Erm... Ok." I answered hesitantly. This would be weird.

She smiled gratefully and approached me, collapsin' beside me and snugglin' up to me. I remained kinda stiff, feelin' odd.

"Goodnight, Sanguine."

I nodded.

**How long was that? On Word it was four pages, but it's always shorter once it goes on Fanfiction. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that, and, once again, I give you my sincerest apologies about no updating in so long.**

**I just thought I would say that despite using it to influence people into reviewing my story, and in this chapter to annoy Valkyrie, I don't like Call Me Maybe. Or pop. At all. **

**Yeah.**

**OK.**

**Falling x :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Getting Her Back

Chapter 6: Getting Her Back

_Skulduggery Pleasant found himself staring at the empty passenger seat of his beloved Bentley, lost in thought._

_He was outside the Sanctuary, he was vaguely aware of that. He had scheduled a meeting with Erskine and Ghastly to try and rescue his partner, Valkyrie Cain, from Avarice Miser's… place._

_That was the problem. He honestly didn't know where Miser- and therefore Valkyrie- was. _

_He opened the car door and stepped out, closing and locking the Bentley behind him. He strode towards the Sanctuary and made his way to Erskine's office after having his name checked off on the List. _

_Erskine smiled warmly when Skulduggery walked in. "Skulduggery," he greeted him, "shall we get started?"_

_Skulduggery gave a curt nod._

"_Ok. We have numerous sources telling us that Avarice's last hide-out was an old power station in Blackholt, south from here. Heard of it?"_

"_Nope."_

"_No, I hadn't either. We're not sure whether Miser will still be there."_

"_When was the most recent source last there?"_

"_January."_

"… _Ah. That was half a year ago."_

"_Yes. But it's all we've got, so…"_

_Skulduggery sighed. Ravel was right; it was all they had. "Let's send somebody else in, before the whole rescue team comes. It would be a waste of half a dozen men's energy if they went to find no one there."_

"_Yeah- about that. We might not be able to send a rescue team in."_

_Skulduggery stared at him._

"_We've been getting threats from the Supreme Council guys, so we're building an army just in case they try to take us by surprise. We're turning the usual rescue squad into soldiers for the big army thing."_

"_So who's going to get Valkyrie?"_

"_You and Tanith."_

"_Providing we get the remnant out of her."_

"_Well, yeah."_

_Skulduggery sighed again. "Thanks, Erskine."_

"_No problem," Erskine replied, smiling sheepishly._

* * *

_o.O.o_

* * *

_Doctor Nye had made Tanith Low his priority over the past week, due to Ghastly Bespoke's incessant demands to retrieve the old Tanith Low from the remnant quickly. It was actually quite proud of its work so far. It firmly believed that Miss Low would be back within the next seven days, and was eager to tell Elder Bespoke this as soon as possible, in order to stop Ghastly from pressurising it._

_Nye scowled as Skulduggery Pleasant came into the ward. Pleasant always managed to distract it somehow- more often than not by threatening it. _

"_How's Tanith Low, Nye?"_

"_Almost there." It muttered._

"_How long is 'almost'?" _

"_I don't know. Six to seven days, I'd say."_

"_Better than a month, I suppose." Pleasant murmured. "As soon as the old Tanith is fit again, tell me. I don't care how, just make sure I know."_

_Nye nodded, and continued its work. It was no longer looking at the body of Miss Low, but was focused on a book in which it had written many notes to help it get its theory together and rid Low of the remnant. It heard Pleasant leave, and turned to look at the body._

_It had a plan, but it would result in a rather hideous scar running along the side of the body. Nye shrugged. _

_Oh well. It didn't really care._

* * *

_o.O.o_

* * *

_Skulduggery returned to his car. He slid in, taking his hat off the brush dust off the rim. Brushing dust off the rim of his hats actually helped him to think, believe it or not. At the moment, Skulduggery Pleasant really needed to think._

_Blackholt, six months ago. Would Miser really still be there? Skulduggery knew Miser, and he was never the person to stay in one place for long. Although, when Miser did move, it would always be nearby, often just a neighbouring town. _

_Skulduggery reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. He accessed the Map feature, searching Blackholt. The closest town to Blackholt was Erimoor, then Coldby and then Shorecrest. He had never heard of any of these places, which actually helped him feel more confident about Blackholt. Nobody would choose a really well-known town to conduct their secret plan in. Maybe Miser wasn't in Blackholt, but he could be in Erimoor, Coldby or Shorecrest._

_If Avarice was in one of the neighbouring towns, they didn't know which building would be the hideout. Something old and grand probably, but they couldn't be sure._

_Skulduggery slipped his phone back into his pocket and put his hat back on his head, checking his reflection in the small mirror above the steering wheel. _

"_Dashing, as always." He muttered._

_Awaiting Valkyrie's laugh, he suddenly he became very aware of how lonely he was when no laugh came. He missed her. He would never admit it to her, but he did. He missed her. _

_He shook his head, starting the engine. At least with all these place names, he was close. Close to getting her back. _

_If he had skin, Skulduggery Pleasant would be smiling as he drove home._

* * *

** .o**

* * *

**Sorry that was so short… I thought that I should probably write something to let you know how Skulduggery was going. So basically, he has a rough idea of where they are, so he just needs people to check the places out and then wait for Tanith to come back and then they can go!**

**YAY!**

**Thing is though, by the time they get there, will Valkyrie really want to go?**

**I mean, of course she'll want to go a little bit, get her magic back, go home.**

**But, well, by that time, things will have changed, won't they?**

**:D OHMYGOLDENGOD CLIFFHANGER :)**

**Thanks for the reviews guys :D And, well, if you want to, you can always review again…**

**Falling x :)**


	7. Chapter 7: The Eyes and the Lips

** I just thought that I should probably put a disclaimer here because I never do that, so… Yeah :P :**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any characters apart from Avarice, Dimitri, Oved (who I haven't used much), The Unfriendly Man and Terry D (I won't say his surname. I hate his surname). **

**Yeah. **

**Ok.**

**ENJOY! :D**

Chapter 7: The Eyes and the Lips

* * *

Valkyrie's POV

Billy-Ray Sanguine was probably the warmest guy I had ever met.

He was _ridiculously _warm. It was incredibly cold in that cell, so, awkward though it was, sleeping on top of him every night, I slept so much better.

I woke up to his heat and his soft breath on my head. It was ever-so-slightly comforting, in a strange way. And whenever I slept on top of him, I felt threatened, but safe at the same time. It confused me greatly, but I learnt to live with it.

The door opened, and Dimitri's huge frame lumbered in. He came over to me and pulled me to my feet. He spun me round and pushed me in the direction of the corridor ahead. I glanced back quickly; Sanguine had woken and sat up, and was currently staring at me. I turned to the corridor again, and walked on, Dimitri closing the door and following behind me.

When we got to the Room, Miser was there. He was studying the half-full hourglass, and smiled as I walked in. I ignored him, also starting to focus on the hourglass. That was my magic in there, those black grains. My power, my strength, now belonged to Avarice Miser.

I scowled as I was thrust into the wooden chair.

I was very familiar with this room and everything in it. There was a stain on the ceiling that was technically unrecognisable as a substance, but was brown and looked slightly like coffee. The strong mahogany table the hourglass stood on was slightly chipped on the front right leg and had graffiti on the front left leg.

"I see you and our Texan friend appear to be getting… close." Miser's smooth voice interrupted me.

"What, 'cos I was sleeping on him? No, he just warm. Like, really warm."

"We could hear you laughing last night, as well as night before that _and _the night before that. And a few other nights, as well."

"Oh, we were just playing a game. The Famous Person Game."

"Every single night for a week?"

"Yup," I said, popping the 'p'. "It 's fun and takes our minds off things. It's actually quite entertaining; somebody thinks of a celebrity and answers a load of 'yes' or 'no' questions to help the other person guess."

"Hm. Ok, then," Miser said, smiling brightly at Dimitri, "Dimitri, if you will."

The bodyguard went through the usual routine of plugging the chair in, a process I still don't get, and I let myself be enveloped by the pain.

* * *

o.O.o

* * *

I was chucked back into my cell again a few hours later. It was still light, and Sanguine was polishing his razor with his jacket sleeve.

"How bad was it this time?" He asked, tilting his head up slightly to show he was looking at me. His sunglasses were off and on his lap. His shirt arms were rolled up, revealing quite muscular forearms. I frowned when he spoke. He sounded tired, not like his usual self.

I didn't answer at first, I was feeling particularly weak today. But, eventually, I shrugged. "Same as always."

"The screams weren't as loud this time," he said.

I nodded. "Suppose that's a good thing,"

"Pretty much." He held his razor up to the small gap of light through that window. It gave off a brilliant light, and I shielded my eyes.

"I think I've done a pretty good job. You?" He asked.

"Decent." I replied, grinning. He narrowed his eyelids at me. I laughed, looking down at my crossed legs.

"You want to play the usual game, or…?" He said after a small silence.

"Can you tell me a story?"

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Uh, what?"

"A story. You're like, two hundred, I'm sure you have a few interesting stories you can tell me. How did you lose your eyes?"

"Long story." He answered, smirking as he started to clean his sunglasses. He looked up at me, and when he realised I didn't care, he sighed and dropped the glasses.

"I think I told you once that I had a go at bein' a detective, right?"

"Right."

"And how I would often get bored and kill my clients, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, one of my client's relatives figured out I had killed them and hunted me down. I don't know what type of magic he had, but he could curse people."

"Curse people?"

"Yup. So he cursed me to lose my eyes. Don't know why he chose for me to lose my _eyes_, but, yeah. That was his decision. Next day, I woke up, realised I had even better vision than before but, after lookin' in a mirror, no eyes."

"I see."

"I had originally thought it was a loada bull when he started cursin' me and everythin', but I guess I learnt my lessons or somethin' after that."

"… Is that it?"

"That's it."

"Oh. It wasn't very long."

"Yeah, I just couldn't be bothered to tell you at first."

"Right," I smiled, chuckling slightly. "It wasn't that dramatic either."

"It was pretty dramatic, you just weren't there. There was this big fight between me and this guy, and just as I had my razor at his throat, he cursed me. He had lungs, that man. Nearly deafened me with all his yellin'."

There was another slightly-more-comfortable silence. I started to think about Skulduggery, and about when he'd get there. I missed him, and Mum, Dad and Alice, that was for sure, but a strange feeling inside me was telling me that I didn't want to go home. It was odd, but it was like I wanted to stay here, with the routine I had here. Wake up on Sanguine, get tortured, return to the cell and play games with Sanguine and then fall asleep on Sanguine.

There was something in my routine that wasn't right, that I didn't like. Was it Sanguine? No, it was something small, and Sanguine was pretty big on my schedule. The only thing that wasn't Sanguine was the torture. Well, that made sense. It's pretty horrible, the pain, and then the knowledge that your magic is slowly being drained and before long you'll just be… Normal.

Everything else on my Schedule was fine though. I liked it. I'm prepared to admit that I like all of the Sanguine parts.

And then, with a twist of my gut, I realise that, excluding the torture, _all _of the parts of my routine were Sanguine.

Well, that's… Unsettling.

I looked up at Sanguine. Half in light, half in dark. I frowned.

"Do you get to wash here?"

He looked up quickly, surprised. "What?"

"Do you get to wash?"

"Oh, yeah. Every three days. Normally you're off in that room, screamin' your head off."

I nodded. "When the sunlight falls on your hair, it shines. It just occurred to me that you should probably have greasy hair."

"They are actually apparently civilised enough to let you wash every so often, which is… Nice."

I smirked, and he returned to polishing his sunglasses, which he still hadn't finished yet. As I looked him over, I actually found myself appreciating his appearance. I had noted once or twice before that he was reasonable attractive, but through my hate for him, I had overlooked all of his handsome features.

My hate. Where had that gone? I almost observe Sanguine in a friendly light now. I suppose he's all I've got for company, and, as cellmates go, he's not bad. He can make me laugh and, even though at the beginning he annoyed me to no end, he's now calmed down a bit and knows when to stop talking. The fact that I now talk to him more has probably cooled his need to interact with human beings.

"You're starin' at me."

I blinked, and snapped out of my thoughts. He was frowning at me, with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I do that sometimes."

"Stare at me?"

"Stare at people when I think."

"Ah."

I coughed awkwardly. "You're being strangely quiet," I said after a while. Looking out of the window, I realised it was night. Time had passed quickly.

"I'm thinkin'."

"Good. You should get in the habit."

He shot me a playful scowl.

"About me?" I asked jokily.

"Yes." He replied.

Well, _that_ was unexpected.

"What type of things?"

He looked away. "Just… things."

I shuffled closer to him. "Please tell me?"

He took a deep-ish breath. "Valk"-

I moved into him, pressing my lips to his. He froze, before sinking into the kiss. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around my waist.

I didn't really know what I was doing, but it felt right. I hoped Skulduggery would never find out, and I wondered what would happen in the morning- well, when I returned to the cell after all the torture stuff.

He pulled me closer so I was practically on his lap, and his other arm moved to my hair. I broke for air after about a minute, and stared into his eye sockets. I could tell he was in shock, yet he had enjoyed it. I thought for a brief moment about whether he liked me back, or whether he had just liked the kiss.

I mentally shrugged and sank down beside him curling up, my head resting on his lap. He continued to look straight ahead, and I smiled. "Goodnight, Sanguine." I murmur.

He didn't reply.

* * *

o.O.o

* * *

**YAY! NEW CHAPTER! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE NIGHT!**

**I'm amazing, am I not?**

**I'm joking, but I hope you enjoyed it. You may think I sped it up a bit too much, but I got the feeling you might want one of them to make a move, so that's what I did :D**

**And I wanted to write some actual Valguine romance, not just them playing games or squabbling. There will probably be a bit more squabbling, but it will be **_**squabbling, **_**not arguing. **

**YAY FOR VALGUINE ROMANCE!**

**NEXT TIME ON **_**Tastes Like The Sun…**_

**Valkyrie and Sanguine talk about their kiss.**

**Yeah. That's pretty much it.**

**I think this will probably be quite short as well when you read it. On Word it's 6 pages, but here... I don't know.**

**_Any_way, if you feel like it, you can always... Review?  
**

**Perhaps?**

* * *

**Falling x :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Talkin' it over

**Happy Birthday to me :D**

**And Happy End of the World to everyone else :)**

**Yes, it's my birthday, as well as the end of the world. But oh well- as an End f the World Present, here's the next chapter.**

**ENJOY IT.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Talkin' It Over

SANGUINE'S POV

Valkyrie was gone when I woke up. I rubbed my head, brushin' my hair out of my eyes. Last night's events flooded my memory again and I groaned.

I wasn't entirely sure of what to make of it. I hadn't been lyin' when I said I had been thinkin' about her- I had. Just small things to begin with, nothin' special. She looked nice when her face was lit up by the moon, stuff like that.

But then slowly it all began to build up. I realised I liked her humour, and her laugh. What I was about to say before she kissed me, I had no idea. It wasn't gonna be 'Valkyrie, I love you' or anythin' along those lines. I could never tell her that, 'specially when I'm not totally sure of it myself.

When she kissed me though, she took me completely by surprise. I hadn't expected her to love me in any way- perhaps she didn't, she just wanted to kiss me. I guess we'd been cooped up in that small cell with just each other to talk to for so long- well, roughly a month now- that she'd wanted somethin' interestin' to happen.

I held my head in my hands, rubbin' my eyes. If Bones ever found out... If Bones ever found out, I'd have to sign my death warrant right there and then. There'd be no way I'd stand a chance against him, and I doubt he'd just let this go, even if I did manage to let him know Valkyrie made the move, not me.

I carried on thinkin' these kinda thoughts until the door opened and Valkyrie was kicked in. She stumbled and collapsed. Actin' on instinct, I caught her as she fell, and lay her gently on the cold floor.

"You okay there?" I asked quietly.

She whimpered.

I picked her back up and carried her to wall, restin' her against it so she could sit up right. With my assistance, she managed to move her back up the wall until she could face me properly.

"Thanks," she murmured, lookin' half-dead.

"No problem." I replied, flashin' my smile at her. She smiled weakly back.

Seein' her like this, so weak, scared me. She'd always been so strong before, fightin' and makin' all those quick comebacks. It was weird.

She was breathin' unnaturally heavily. I sat and watched her as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

"Cold..." She murmured. I slipped off my jacket and covered her upper torso with it. The corners of her lips twitched up gratefully, before her head drooped and she fell unconscious.

I was angry. This twenty-three year old girl didn't deserve this kinda torture, not at her age. It was like seein' a two year old bein' beaten up. It was… Sorta sick.

I shuffled over and sat beside her, pressin' against her to keep her warm, and slept.

* * *

o.O.o

* * *

There was movement in my cell. I woke, blinked and smiled. She looked so much better. She was bent over somethin', not entirely sure what, and was workin' away. I stretched out, saw my jacket and slipped my arms into the sleeves. Hearin' me, she froze, straightened, and turned.

"We need to talk."

"You're lookin' all better."

"This is serious."

I nodded. "I am serious."

Valkyrie sighed. "I don't know what happened last night."

"I do. You kissed me."

She flinched slightly, and glared.

"Sorry."

Runnin' a hand through her hair, she sighed. "I'm not entirely sure if there's anything there. Sometimes I think there is, sometimes not."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're lyin'," I stated.

She blinked, taken aback. "… Am I?"

"Yep. I can tell. I used to be a detective too, you know."

She tilted her head a little. "Not really."

"Well, yeah. I just wasn't very good at it."

She laughed quietly. I grinned back. There was somethin' nice about that laugh, the one I just heard. It was genuine, and it sounded refreshin'.

She got to her feet and came over to me as I got to mine. "I want to try something," she said. She placed a hand on my neck.

Automatically, I wrapped an arm around her waist. I knew what was happenin', and I knew why. She simply wanted to know whether there was anythin' there, and to be honest, so did I.

As her face neared, I shut my eyelids and let her gently place her lips upon mine. It was a soft kiss, not passionate, more… Love. And I felt it- the love. It was definitely there. As we stood together, close, I knew exactly what I wanted. The explosions in my stomach told me. I smiled through the kiss. This was it. This was what I wanted.

Her. That's all. I wanted her all to myself, not sharin' her with Funny Bones, that Fletcher boy with the stupid hair or any vampires.

It became slightly quicker as she began to work her lips on mine, not just pressin' against mine anymore. She gripped tighter on my neck and I pulled her closer so she was right up against my chest. Her other hand entangled itself in my hair, and I sensed her hunger. It surprised me, this sudden fierceness that I could feel in it all, but I took it in my stride- sort of.

Valkyrie broke away eventually, pantin' ever-so-slightly. "That was nice," she breathed. There was some starin', and her lips came to me once again.

* * *

o.O.o

* * *

GENERAL POV

They didn't notice him. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear his footsteps, and didn't sense his presence as he watched them. He thought it might be weird and kind of perverted, standing there, watching them kiss, but he smiled all the same.

Did she love him? Looked like it. The Texan could be used against her, her weakness. The one thing that could break her.

_Now this, _Dimitri thought, _could be useful._

* * *

**HEY!**

**So, technically, it's 22****nd**** December now (WE'RE NOT DEAD! HELL YEAH!) but I began writing this yesterday (21****st**** December) my birthday- and the End of the World –so that's why I wrote all that in the beginning. **

**I hope you liked that, despite its lack of length. But oh well- you get some lovely Valguine romance. **

**As well as that nice little… thing at the end. So Dimitri knows, and that pretty much means Miser does too… **

**Oh dear.**

* * *

**Seeing as I don't know you all, you don't have to give me a birthday present, but if you want to, a simple review will suffice :D *wink wink* :D**

* * *

**Falling x :)**


	9. Chapter 9: The Quiet Moments

Chapter 9: The Quiet Moments

VALKYRIE'S POV

He didn't come for me.

Dimitri, I mean. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't disappointed, but I was a little worried. The hourglass wasn't full- or, at least, it wasn't last time I checked. I was just curious as to why they had suddenly decided to leave me alone.

Still, it gave me plenty of time with Billy-Ray. The time I spent with him on a… Romance based relationship I guess, helped me see that in all honesty, he wasn't a bad guy. Well, he was, he killed people for a living and enjoyed it, but he didn't have the best past and I didn't blame him for turning out the way he did. His father carried the insanity gene and his mother left him early out of fear of Scarab, making Dreylan all the more bitter. Scarab was in his twenties when this happened, as was the mother, so Scarab was still a trainee-assassin. When he began to kill even more people, did even more jobs, he became all the more cruel and even started to beat Billy-Ray.

"I got used to it after a while," Billy-Ray had said in a mock hauntful voice, "I tried to stand my ground whenever he had a go at me, to look strong, y'know, but it never really did me any good."

I'd snorted. "That's bull. You're looking for sympathy."

"It's not. Every word was true." He'd protested, smiling.

Whether he was looking for sympathy or not, it did the trick. He softened my image of him every day after the night I kissed him. There had been a few more after that, not as big as that one, but a few all the same. I didn't talk to him about the magic-stealing. I talked to him to get away from it all.

"So what happened next?" I said randomly a few days after he'd told me the story. "You've been trying to please him your whole life. But when you tried to get Guild arrested, you didn't act like you really liked him."

"What? Oh, yeah, I gave up. Figured it wasn't worth it- and, believe me, it wasn't."

"Oh."

"That Dimitri guy hasn't come in a while."

I closed my eyes. "No, he hasn't." I really didn't want to talk about that at that moment.

"Wonder why." Sensing my reluctance to discuss the Dimitri stuff, he changed the subject. "Your wounds gettin' any better?" He asked.

"I don't know," I replied, opening my eyes, "you tell me." I twisted my neck round until he could see my face and, like he always did when he managed to see my face properly in enough light, he winced.

Trying to hide the wince, he smiled. "A little."

"Hm. Well, they don't feel any better." I said, going back to staring at dark stone and cobwebs. He was propped up by the closest wall and facing the far wall. I lay curled up in his arms, facing the same way as him.

He nudged me a bit, making me flatten out so I was lying on his lap. He pressed kisses to each of my cuts, before placing a small kiss on my lips. He broke away and smiled at me.

"Any better?"

I grinned. "A little."

He chuckled, lowering slightly until our lips were touching once again.

o.O.o

My eyes fluttered open. My head rose with Sanguine's chest and I strained to look up at his sleeping face. It was probably the middle of the night and the moon shone through the small window. I was in my normal sleeping position- head resting on Sanguine's chest and the rest of my body lying on the side of him.

I sat up slightly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I shuffled off Billy-Ray, shivering as the warmth of his body left me, and moved so I could be in front of the light.

When I was with Skulduggery, I never really stopped to appreciate my surroundings. Nnot that there was much to appreciate in that dingy cell I was currently stuck in, but just that sliver of silver moon was enough to make up for it all.

_Skulduggery. _Where was he? How far was he into bringing me home? I missed him more and more by the day. Of course, I was more concerned about the blonde haired psychopath slumped against the wall that I was- well, in love with. Every time I kissed him, asides from the little fireworks I always noticed, I silently prayed Skulduggery would never find out. God knows what he'd do to Billy-Ray- or what Ghastly would do, for that matter.

I tried to conceal my surprise as two arms took me from behind, wrapping themselves around my waist. My eyes regained their normal shape and my mouth curved into a smile as Sanguine nuzzled his face into my neck.

"You should sleep. Don't tell me you're not tired." He murmured, his voice muffled.

"I can't sleep." I replied, continuing to look ahead of me. After a small pause, I whispered, "the moon's very beautiful."

"Idyllic," he whispered back, smiling.

I turned to see his smile, before sinking into his embrace. I shifted into a half-lying position and closed my eyes. Billy-Ray began to hum a soothing tune as he stroked my forehead with his thumb.

Something he had once said came to my mind. It was said in less peaceful- sort of- conditions, but I remembered it well and it seemed particularly important to me now.

_Enjoy the quiet moments while you can._

**HELLO.**

**Sorry there was such a long break and then such a short chapter, but I am afraid to say I have been suffering a mild form of writers block. **

**Anyway, I should really be in bed, so I'm going to quickly say goodbye.**

**BYE.**


	10. Chapter 10: The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 10: The Calm Before the Storm

Skulduggery slammed the door of his Bentley, starting the engine. Ghastly ran out after him, opening the side door of his car.

"Surely you're not doing this alone?" Ghastly asked, panting lightly.

"Why not?" Skulduggery replied, putting on his seatbelt.

Ghastly stared. "Because you know Miser, and you know how heavily protected he keeps himself. There's no absolute way you could go in, get Val, and come out completely alive."

Skulduggery shrugged, looking at his reflection in the rear view mirror. He ran a finger around the brim of his hat, brushing off dust.

"Look," Ghastly tried, "take a few cleavers. It can't hurt to have a little help."

"The bigger the operation, the more obvious it will be that I'm there," Skulduggery pointed out.

Ghastly hung his head. "Skul, this is really dangerous."

"And so is her situation, so I'm not delaying this for a few cleavers."

Ghastly considered reasoning with him, but he knew it would be in vain. Stepping away, he closed the side door. Skulduggery gave him an appreciative nod, and drove.

The Elder had an incredibly bad feeling about this. He turned on his heel and made his way back to the Sanctuary, riddled with anxiety.

Skulduggery'd better not fail.

Valkyrie had nice hair.

Billy-Ray Sanguine had noticed this after he'd tunnelled with her, roughly 13 years ago. Jesus, had she grown. But her hair was the best part of her, always shiny, always smooth. Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself, because it would have seemed incredibly creepy back then.

But now he could run his fingers through it, and actually feel it slipping between his fingers. Nope, still felt creepy- though she didn't seem to mind.

Running his hand through her hair also seemed to be brilliant for thinking. Plots formed in his head, ways to escape and find Valkyrie a doctor. She'd probably want to find Skulduggery. He got the feeling that Skulduggery would always come first, in front of Sanguine, but he knew to take this in his stride. He would never be able to change that. Valkyrie had hated him a few months ago; it would be hard for her best friend of over 20 years- or something -to be overtaken by Billy-Ray Sanguine.

How would she get her magic back though? Valkyrie Cain was not Valkyrie Cain without her little shadows, hanging on her every non-verbal word. She said it was stored in an hourglass. Could she-

"Valkyrie!" He cried, sitting up.

She rose slowly, blinking rapidly, still waking up. "What? What's wrong?"

"You said it was stored in the big hourglass, right?" He asked, eyelids wide.

"Um, yeah. If you're talking about my magic, that is."

"What if you broke it?"

Valkyrie paused. "What? You think it would just, like, sift back into me?"

"I have no idea, but it's just a suggestion. It's possible, I think."

Valkyrie slowly shook her head. "How would we get there? I'm way too weak to smash up a giant hourglass thing- and you're too big to sneak around this place."

"Thanks, but if I tunnel, I could find it and smash it. I'm stronger than you, at the moment anyway."

"That's wonderful," Valkyrie said with raised eyebrows, "but you don't have your magic. Unless you get one of those hideous metal bracelets, it's pretty much impossible."

Sanguine smiled. Valkyrie groaned.

"And how're you going to manage that? Think you're just going to smack Dimitri around the head and be done with it? Miser's henchmen are twice your size, in case you hadn't noticed."

"I have my ways," he murmured, flashing a smile.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, good luck."

"Disbeliever."

"Moron."

"Why don't you have any faith in me?"

"Shut up. I'm sleeping."

Sanguine smiled. He needed to get her out. She sounded stronger than she was, and he knew it. Much more of it all, and she'd die- and that wasn't happening.

Nope.


End file.
